Art and technology, historically not the most comfortable of bedfellows, but the recent smartphone boom has resulted in a whole host of apps being released with intention of unleashing the artist in all of us.

Ever since mobile phone recycling took off and it was made easier to upgrade your phone to the latest model, more and more of us have been opting for the next-generation of mobile phone, the smartphone.

The huge success of products such as the Apple iPhone has allowed third party app developers to branch out from the traditional features of mobile phones and provide services that cater for our every need.

There are so many great apps for the budding artist to use now, and even world famous professional artists are now including the iPhone as part of their artistic tool kit. British born art colossus David Hockney, known for his forays into unknown artistic territories and mediums, has started to become interested with the potential of the iPhone and its artistic potential. Apps such as ‘Brushes’, which allows you to draw, smudge and smear on the touchscreen of your handset have been a huge success for amateur enthusiasts, and now, it seems, with professionals.

The majority of art-inspired smartphone apps are best used in conjunction with photography. There are apps available which can measure exposure, depth-of-field and hyper focal length. There are even apps which have precise times on the sunrise and sunset of each day, allowing the keen photographer to make the most of the light conditions. This particular app works worldwide, so if you’re snapping in Seoul or Somerset you will be able to forecast how the light will affect your photo.

If the photographer is out and about taking some reference or research shots on their smartphone camera, there are apps on the market which can track the exact location where that particular photo was taken; it even tracks your route to your current spot, so there is no need to take directions of where this photographer’s haven is tucked away.

All these apps are designed to lighten the load for photographers who are fed up of lugging various bits of kit to their favourite photography spots, just one of the many ways that smartphones are making our lives more streamlined.